


Visit Your National Parks

by sabinelagrande



Series: Exandria NM [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Park Rangers, Gen, Mentioned Shaun Gilmore/Vax'ildan, Take Your Fandom to Work Day, Vex'ahlia-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 17:04:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6865153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabinelagrande/pseuds/sabinelagrande
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another day draws to a close at Exandria National Monument.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Visit Your National Parks

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for Take Your Fandom To Work Day 2016! Rather than clunkily spelling everything out in the story, I've included a short glossary at the end. Thanks to dizmo and bendingwind for helping me spruce this up (no pun intended).

Vax is balancing his knife.

This act irritates Vex to no end; when Vax gets bored behind the desk, he takes the knife off his belt and attempts to balance it on various surfaces. Somehow, with what Vex suspects is a convenient natural divot of the wood of the front desk, he's found a way to make it stand upright on its tip. It's an appalling habit, but what probably annoys Vex the most about it is that it is bizarrely captivating.

It's so captivating, in fact, that Vex is caught off-guard by the sound of the door opening. Vax's knife falls over, but in one fluid movement he snatches it up, closes it, and puts it back on his belt, quick enough that Vex doubts the visitors even notice he did it. Two women walk in, and Vex takes the briefest glance at the clock; the VC doesn't close for another forty-five minutes, so she doubts she's going to need to run these people out. That's very much preferable to the alternative.

She chats with them briefly; this is their second day in the park, and it's nice to answer questions about interesting plant and animal life instead of giving out the park map yet again. Vex will continue to give out the park map, because deep in the squishy part of her heart those maps matter, but a change of pace is always welcome.

Satisfied, the visitors walk past the front desk into the museum area, talking to each other as they look around. "Watch this," Vax says quietly, slipping out from behind the desk.

"Again?" Vex says, but Vax is not dissuaded. 

Vex looks around, checking the area before attending to her brother's silliness. She can just see Keyleth outside the window, though Keyleth doesn't see her. Keyleth is talking animatedly to a visitor, gesturing to the trees that grow just outside the VC. By this time of day, Keyleth isn't on duty; Keyleth isn't even in interpretation, but Vex isn't surprised that she stopped to talk to someone. For all that Keyleth can be awkward, she has a passion for this wilderness that Vex can't come close to matching.

No one seems to be approaching the door, so Vex looks over to where Vax is walking ever so quietly up behind the pair of visitors. They're studying the raised-relief map in the center of the exhibits, and one of them makes a remark about a trail that they really must see.

It's like they served it to him on a platter.

"If I may," Vax says, and the visitors jump. He reaches between them, pointing to a spot on the map. "If you make it to this point by around seven o'clock-" he starts, and proceeds to give the same canned speech about panoramas and sunsets that everyone has given a billion times. Somehow he manages to do it in such a way that Vex thinks the visitors won't even remember having been scared, which is admittedly a feat.

"Write that down as an informal contact," Vax says, grinning, when he comes back to the desk.

"I'll make a note," Vex says. She picks up a pen, pretending to write. "Dear diary, today Vax scared more visitors half to death. He is _very_ proud of himself."

"I am, a bit," Vax says.

"I'm sure when they start hiring based on stealth, you'll be a GS-30 the very next day," Vex says.

"A man can dream," Vax says.

The rest of the time until closing passes quickly. The visitors have a look around and buy a few items; Vex is not completely confident that the seldom-purchased beef jerky they have selected is not expired, but she sells it to them anyway- but how expired can preserved meat really get?

"About that time, sis," Vax says, picking up the slightly messy stack of maps with both hands and tapping them against the desk to align them. "I'll take the tally if you'll get the merchandise."

"Alright," Vex says. Neither of them say anything for a few minutes, busy with their tasks. There's not much to do with the items on sale in the VC, just some slight rearranging and t-shirt folding, and Vex is finished well before Vax. She walks over, checking the counter by the door. "Two seventy-six."

"Thank you," Vax says, marking it down.

Vex walks over, adjusting some items on the desk while Vax works. "Want to come to town with me for dinner?" she asks.

Vax shakes his head. "I can't. I have to go over some figures with Gilmore."

"Oh really," Vex says, putting her elbow on the desk and resting her chin on her hand. "And this would all be official NHA business, of course, nothing extra?"

"Much like the park and the NHA, Gilmore and I have a mutually beneficial relationship," Vax says, without looking up.

Vex grins. "Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"Last I checked?" Vax says, finishing his last tally with a flourish. "That's what they're calling it when they're talking to their sister."

"Fair enough, brother," Vex allows. Before she finishes speaking, the door opens; it's on the tip of her tongue to tell the person they're closing, but it's only Percy, looking rather the worse for wear. It's not surprising to see a member of RM look rumpled at the end of the day, but Percy looks more disheveled than usual, with a long streak of what looks like grease on his cheek.

"Rough day?" Vex asks.

"Quite," Percy says. "And as a bonus, I came a hair's breadth from getting trapped by Lyra on my way over."

"How did you manage to get away?" Vax says.

"Well, I threw Scanlan under that particular bus," Percy responds, which doesn't surprise Vex. For whatever reason, Scanlan, slippery as he is, has an unusually hard time escaping from the admin division's most talkative member.

"What do you say to dinner in town?" Vex offers.

Percy sighs heavily. "I say that I need a break in the worst way. I have been tinkering with my equipment for two hours and getting absolutely nowhere."

"Think we can talk Grog into joining us?" Vex says.

"I don't see why not," Percy says. "He's probably just going to get blazed with Scanlan again." Vex's favorite LE chooses that moment to walk in, and Percy hastily adds, "And by that I mean they're going to burn some incense and spend the night in quiet meditation."

"Nice save," Vex says dryly.

"What?" Pike says, having apparently missed the discussion entirely.

"Want to do dinner?" Vex asks.

"I'm working for another three hours," Pike tells her, adjusting her duty belt absently. "Have fun, though."

"I'll bring you back a slice of pie," Vex promises.

"Would you?" Pike says, perking up.

"Anything for you," Vex tells her. Pike smiles widely at her before going through the door just past the end of the desk, the one that goes back to the LE and interp offices. Vex does not envy Pike her job, but Pike seems called to it.

"I meant to tell you," Percy says, when Pike has gone. "We caught more footage of CL-125."

Vex's eyes light up. "Trinket?"

"I think they're still undecided on a nickname," Percy says, "but yes, Trinket."

"He's so cute," Vex says. "I just want to snuggle him. Well, I would, if he weren't a wild bear."

"That would be the sticking point, yes," Percy says.

The door opens suddenly, and a man's frame all but fills the doorway. The name on the plaque affixed to his shirt reads "Phillip", but no one at the park has ever called him that; it is entirely possible that no one has called him Phillip in his entire life. He's heavily bearded, completely bald, and _huge_ , six feet and nine inches of solid muscle. Vex sometimes wonders how he even fits in the fee booth, but it is where he shines, possibly because very few people are willing to question someone that large.

"I saw the _coolest_ snake today," Grog says, with obvious delight.

"Just the man I wanted to see," Vex says. "Come with us to dinner."

"I'm in," Grog says. "You stay here, I'll go get Scanlan away from Lyra."

Vax's brow furrows. "How did you know?" 

Grog just gives him a look.

"Point taken," Vax replies.

Vex looks down at her watch; she picks up her hat and raps the desk, walking out from behind it. "Time for the flag."

Vax puts down his pen, putting on his own hat. "I'm right behind you." He walks around the desk, opening his arms. "Everyone, out of my VC," Vax says, attempting to shepherd Grog and Percy out, not that anyone is going to shepherd Grog anywhere without Grog wanting to be shepherded. Thankfully, Grog is amenable to this, and he and Percy are duly shown the door.

Suddenly Vex and Vax are alone. The VC parking lot is deserted, not a visitor in sight, and the VC itself has that quiet, expectant stillness that an empty museum has. The two of them are silent on the walk out to the flagpole, more by circumstance than design. Superintendent Mercer is just leaving for the night, and Vax and Vex both wave as his car passes. Still neither of them speak; it's peaceful like this.

Vax reaches the pole first, unwinding the rope, and Vex stands at the ready, catching the flag when Vax lets it down. There's a certain solemnity to a moment like this. Somehow, it still means something; pride in her country has never been and will never be Vex's strong suit, but even now it has so much potential. She puts on her uniform every day knowing that she represents not just what this country is, but what it could be. This country is fucked, but maybe not irretrievably so, maybe not if she can plant seeds in the people who come here. Maybe if she can make them see the good that's here, then something world-changing will grow from that.

There's probably a good Freeman Tilden quote about it. She can always look it up.

"Another day, another dollar," Vax says, as he tucks the end of the now folded flag in.

"Something like that," Vex replies, linking arms with him. "Come on. You have a date and I have dinner."

"I feel like reminding you that it's not a date will get me nowhere," Vax says.

"And you are exactly right," Vex says.

"Let's go," he says, tugging her back towards the VC.

**Author's Note:**

> Some ranger terms:
> 
>  **GS:** This is a prefix for certain federal jobs. For reference, most interp rangers are between GS-4 and GS-11.  
>  **Interpretation (interp):** The park division (mine!) responsible for interfacing with park visitors. These are the people in flat hats who tell you where the bathrooms are, point out many sites of interest, and basically try to make you care as much about this place as they do.  
>  **Law enforcement (LE):** The park service has its own law enforcement officers. Fun fact: Apparently at FLETC they call themselves the Pine Swine.  
>  **Natural History Association (NHA):** A non-profit that works alongside a park, giving them a support system to do things that the park itself is legally disallowed to do. At most parks, especially smaller ones, the NHA is responsible for selling all the merchandise available to visitors; rangers take the actual money and remit it to the NHA. It was a long way to go for a joke about friends with benefits but goddammit I stand by it.  
>  **Resource management (RM):** The park division responsible for the preservation of the natural and cultural assets of the park. This includes things like curation and wildlife study, but also things like removing non-native plants or assessing risk to historic structures.  
>  **Visitor center (VC):** The place where you get information about the park, where generally you will interact with members of the interp staff.
> 
> And I have eaten expired beef jerky from the VC and been okay.


End file.
